Advances in computer technology (e.g., microprocessor speed, memory capacity, data transfer bandwidth, software functionality, and the like) have generally contributed to increased computer application in various industries. Ever more powerful server systems, which are often configured as an array of servers, are commonly provided to service requests originating from external sources such as the World Wide Web, for example.
As the amount of available electronic data grows, it becomes more important to store such data in a manageable manner that facilitates user friendly and quick data searches and retrieval. Today, a common approach is to store electronic data in one or more databases. In general, a typical database can be referred to as an organized collection of information with data structured such that a computer program can quickly search and select desired pieces of data, for example. Commonly, data within a database is organized via one or more tables. Such tables are arranged as an array of rows and columns.
Also, the tables can comprise a set of records, wherein a record includes a set of fields. Records are commonly indexed as rows within a table and the record fields are typically indexed as columns, such that a row/column pair of indices can reference particular datum within a table. For example, a row can store a complete data record relating to a sales transaction, a person, or a project. Likewise, columns of the table can define discrete portions of the rows that have the same general data format, wherein the columns can define fields of the records.
Database applications allow the user to compare, sort, order, merge, separate and interconnect the data, so that useful information can be generated from the data. Capacity and versatility of databases have grown incredibly to allow virtually endless storage capacity utilizing databases. Such database systems can become complex to manage, wherein substantial investment of time of a skilled administrator is typically required.
For example, in a peer-to-peer replication topology based on transactional replication in the publisher-subscriber model, it becomes challenging to provide a low-impact methodology to make topology-wide configurations, including conflict detection configurations such as enabling and disabling, and schema operations such as column adding and column dropping.